Behind Blue Eyes

Onslaught of Madness by Jesse Teller My rating: 4 of 5 stars Full review now up at Grimdark Magazine .. . Onslaught of Madness was my second foray into the world of Perilisc, as told by the gifted author Jesse Teller. I’ve also reviewed Song by the same author for Grimdark Magazine . While Song introduced us to a marvelous and mysterious world full of magic and intrigue, we only got a snapshot of the workings of the near-immortal beings that steer the course of humanity across the continent. With Onslaught of Madness , we get another angle on this, but from a much larger scope. Drine is invading the neighboring country of Tienne. Drine has a huge military and is bent on conquest, with its king sending one of our POV characters to lead his forces in this full invasion. Rextur is a follower of Dis, the God of Destruction, and he’s been planning this invasion for years. Even so, the king has ordered him to action much sooner than Rextur had hoped for...

The Millennial Manifesto by Michael R. Fletcher My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was provided a copy of the eARC for this book by the author. Wow! I just realized that by stopping there, I could get my point across on how I felt about this book, but it would also be the lamest review I'd ever written. Just that acknowledgement makes it a little better. But for real. A couple of years ago I was introduced to Michael R. Fletcher through his brilliant debut novel, Beyond Redemption , a grimdark fantasy of the highest order with a perfect blend of violence, grit, characterization, and humor. This is on my short list of books I push on the wary and unwary alike, quickly recommended without hesitation by anyone I come across that asks me for a good read. The other books in that series are nearly as good, and I've been devouring everything Fletcher ever since. But now he is moving out of his lane. This isn't fantasy. It's not even speculative ficti...

The God King's Legacy by Richard Nell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Review now posted on the Grimdark Magazine site... Not so much a novel as a collection of two novellas that are only distantly related, The God King’s Legacy serves as an excellent introduction into the as yet unreleased God-King’s Chronicles series. Rebellion of the Black Militia , the first novella, is about an apprentice Scribe that is being assigned to work with a legendary Knight to weed out a rebellion that seems to have a demon behind it. In this world, demons can be captured and held by magical markings on the body of the holder, with Scribes as the experts in such castings. The God-King himself has done this, and it appears that this is what keeps the demons at bay for the most part. If a Scribe or Knight holds the demon, it is neutralized and kept from hurting the population at large. A nice bonus is that the holder gains powers directly from the demon possessing him or her...